1. Field of the Invention
The invention disclosed broadly relates to the field of glass cutting and more particularly for hand tools used to break glass that has been previously cut with a glass cutter.
2. Description of the Related Art
Cutting glass and glass type products has always been challenging. Many tools have been developed to cut glass such as general purpose glass cutters. As an example, the Fletcher brand hand glass cutters that are available from C.R. Laurence Co. of Orlando, Fla. or Anything in Stained Glass of Rio Grande, N.J. (http://www.anythinginstainedglass.com/tools/toolfrm.htm). Shown in FIG. 1 is an example of a prior art hand glass cutter 100 such as the Fletcher xe2x80x9cSteel Wheel Cutter.xe2x80x9d The steel wheel cutter 100 has a cutting wheel 102 on one end with a ball tapping handle on the other end 104. A solid shaft 106 made of metal such as brass and optional breaking grip 108 is shown. And although these hand glass cutters are useful, they are not without their shortcomings.
One shortcoming is these tools do not work well when cutting small pieces of glass that are typically less than 1 inch in width. Accordingly, a need exists for a glass breaking and cutting tool to overcome this problem.
Another shortcoming is these hand glass cutters do not work well for long glass cuts. Long glass cuts require several taps of uniform pressure and the current hand glass cutters do not permit control of the pressure. Accordingly, need exists for a glass breaking and cutting tool to overcome this problem and provide a taping mechanism that applies uniform pressure over the area previously scored.
Another shortcoming is these hand glass cutters do not work well when laminated glass, such as bullet-proof glass, because the force of the taping cannot be accurately controlled. Therefore, need exists for a glass cutting tool and breaking tool to overcome this problem.
Other prior art glass cutters separate the cutting head 102 from the tapping head 104, such as the Fletcher brand Pistol Grip Oil Cutter (not shown). These prior art glass cutters use two hand glass cutters. One tool is used to score or cut the glass and a second tool is used to tap the glass in order to break the glass along the score. The requirement of switching hand glass cutters is cumbersome. Accordingly, a need exists for a tool that permits cutting and breaking the glass in one tool.
Briefly, in accordance with the invention, disclosed is a glass tapping tool for tapping glass and breaking glass along a score-line that has been previously cut. In one embodiment, the tool comprises a hollow tube with a first end and a second end. A stationary striking member is attached to the first end of the tube for tapping a piece of glass which has been previously cut along a score-line. Mounted inside the tube is a slidable hammer with a first end and a second end. The slidable hammer is mounted so that the second end of the slidable hammer protrudes outside the second end of the hollow tube. Elastically coupled between the stationary striking member and the slidable hammer is a spring. When a user pulls the part of slidable hammer protruding from the hollow tube in an axial direction away from the hollow tube, the spring produces a force in opposite direction which causes the slidable hammer through the spring to strike the stationary striking member, when the user releases the slidable hammer, so as to tap the glass along a score line and causing the glass to break along the score line.